Authoring

Exit poll (per MSNBC): 66% of republicans in New Hampshire want to ban all Muslims.

That got me thinking: (1) 66% of republicans in NH are xenophobic. (This probably reflects the view of 66% of republicans in the US.) and (2) 66% of republicans in NH have no idea what they are talking about. (Nor do most anti-Muslim xenophobes.) Republicans are afraid of Muslims immigrating from the Middle East.

I looked at global data from the Pew Research Center–“A nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. We conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. We do not take policy positions.” The following are their numbers from 2010:

Total Muslims in the world: 1,600,000,000 (that’s 1.6 BILLION)

Total Muslims from the Middle East and North Africa (where republicans think all Muslims come from): 317,000,000 (that’s 317 million)

Total Muslims from Asia-Pacific: 986,000,000 (that’s 986 million, more than three times more Muslims in Asia)

Countries with most Muslims: Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh (687,000,000 combined, more than twice as many in these four countries compared to the Middle East and North Africa combined)

So, are Americans fearful of immigrants from Indonesia? No. From India? No. So, should ALL Muslims be banned from immigrating to the U.S.? No, because there are way more non-radical Muslims from countries outside of the Middle East than from countries within the Middle East. Banning everyone who claims to be (or is suspected of being) a Muslim is not the solution. It’s a knee-jerk, xenophobic reaction to an issue that requires more thoughtful, diplomatic solutions.

I thought that I might be over-reacting. I thought I might be too judgmental. But after seeing the media response today, I know that I’m not. Cam Newton behaved like a baby. Regardless of his reason, there is no excuse for the NFL’s MVP–just crowned the day before–to behave like a child by walking out of a press conference. You are a professional football player, Cam. You’re the starting quarterback in the Super Bowl. Regardless of the outcome, you stay and articulatelyanswer the questions that the press asks you. Period.

A young man I know doesn’t like Cam Newton. He never has liked him. He thinks that Cam is overrated and egotistical. Even though I’ve never really supported nor followed Cam, I thought this young adult was being too judgmental. Nope, he wasn’t.

Coincidentally, this young man doesn’t like Hillary. He thinks she’s deceitful and completely not trustworthy. … I should pause here and describe his reactions to both Hillary and Cam. He tenses and raises his voice in disgust when thinking about these two. Actually, he reacts the same when he thinks of or sees anyone he doesn’t trust. To him, Cam has only room in his head for Cam, and Hillary will say anything to advance Hillary. I cannot argue with him.

As I ponder that young man’s reaction to people he doesn’t trust, I wonder how many other young adults already have their BS-meters fine-tuned to detect when a person is full of s%^t. Most high school students and even some college students don’t have their detectors tuned or even powered on in some cases. But given that a large number of young Americans also don’t like Hillary, I’m encouraged to see that there are more youth than not out there who can smell deceit when it’s pushed their way.

The data set on which I’m basing my conclusions is, admittedly, very limited. But the data do support my hypothesis. I will continue to search for additional corroborating evidence, but for now I’m (tentatively) pleased in the future prospects for the country. Our youth is primed to lead it’s elders in the correct direction. (I hope.)

Did you know there is an entire website dedicated to the fear of the number 13?

I was going to do some research on triskaidekaphobia, but there is an entire site, triskaidekaphobia.org, that will tell you all you want to know.

Do people really think that if there is a row 13 on a plane and they sit in it the plane will crash? And if your office or hotel room is on the 13th floor that it will… I don’t know, disappear? Burst into flames? Vanish? Result in perpetual, un-ending, infinite bad luck every day of the year?

What is it with triskaidekaphobia? Are the origins really found in the bible? Twelve disciples (or, rather, 13 = Judas)? Or is it…?

I also found paraskevidekatriaphobia. Kind of cool, right? Today is Friday and this is Day 13 of my writing posts.

I also found tetraphobia which is obvious and even more stupid than the fear of the number 13. What is so intimidating about the number four? Is 4 that fear-inducing?

I understand that there are legitimate things that can rationally cause fear. Standing on a rooftop, a very tall bridge, or the edge of a cliff all seem like obvious situations to arouse fear. Also, a tarantula crawling in the hair or being swarmed by locusts might freak a person out. And being diagnosed with cancer will generally make a patient afraid to die.

So what is it about a number that strikes fear into the heart of some people? What is it about the combination of that number and the last weekday? And why would the number 4 cause people to stroke out? Why would a number trigger a reaction?

I don’t get it. Of course, I’m not irrational. (At least not about numbers.)

To all of you (or none of you) expecting a post of substance, I apologize.

I did write today. I wrote a bio for a query submission. I know, I know… it’s not a post. But it is writing.

I admit that I have actually skipped a day or two during my quest for daily writing practice. But, in fact, I write every day. I write at my day job and I write for my night job. I may not write a post every night, but I am writing.

Lately, politics has been the subject of my posts. I have not been supporting a particular candidate, but I have been commenting on the political process and the things that candidates have said. I don’t want to always write about politics, but there is so much fodder in the media to chew on. I will strive to avoid politics in future posts, but I can’t guarantee it.

I am speaking to you, the young adults in this country. Please, go out and vote.

I am not appealing to the youth of America to vote for a particular candidate. Rather, I’m appealing to the youth of America to become active in shaping the future of the country.

The federal government is broken beyond belief. Congress would rather sit on their collective butts to derail attempts by the administration to get something done or they’ll act only to help their rich donors ensure future tax avoidance or sky-rocketing profits. The least productive congresses in the last 40 years occurred from 2011 to 2015. I’m sure the current, 114th Congress will continue the streak of inactivity.

The election process is corrupt beyond belief. Elected officials are bought. The U.S. government is no longer a democracy, it’s a plutocracy. The wealthiest citizens pay for advertising and fundraising to buy candidates in exchange for favorable legislation. (Refer to the previous paragraph.)

But it doesn’t have to be that way. You, the youth of America, have the opportunity to start changing the way politics works. Now, there is no simple fix. It will take years, several election cycles, to change. Old people simply won’t be alive to see such change through. That’s why old people are so resistant to change; its just too difficult and requires too much time and effort. Old people vote for the status quo, the establishment. But you healthy, energetic, smart people with LOTS of years in front of you can actually have an effect. You can take the government away from the rich. You can actually make your vote count.

Let me ask you a question: Do you like Hillary Clinton? Will you vote for her? If you answered “Yes”, you’re not the right person to participate in a political revolution. She’s old, she lies, she’s completely out of touch with anyone younger than age 50, and she makes more money from Wall Street and banks than just about any other politician. If you said “No”, I have to ask a follow-up: Are you voting for Bush or Christie or other “establishment” republicans? If you answered “Yes”, you’re not the right person. Those candidates are just as out of touch and pre-bought as Hillary. Maybe Trump might bring about change, but I don’t think I want to live in a country that experiences the changes that Trump might bring about. So basically, are you voting for Bernie? If you answered “Yes”, you’re the right person.

The only way change will be effected in this country is to show support for those that aren’t bought by big money donors. The only way change will be effected is to elect those that stand up for the people of this country, ALL people of this country. So, you, the young adults in this country, are the only people who can save it. But it can only be saved if you vote.

Trump didn’t win. And Rubio almost caught Trump. With 99% of the votes in Rubio and Trump are essentially tied for second, and Cruz won. I’m not rooting for any of them, but this night is going to make the next primaries very interesting. The Republican count is essentially down to three.

With 81% of the delegate equivalents counted, Bernie and Hillary are tied. And Martin O’Malley is now out.

The democrats’ caucus process is very interesting. I’ve never watched the actual process at individual sites before, so seeing it in person has been cool to watch.

I guess I haven’t followed the process closely enough in previous years, or maybe this year is greatly different, but since when are cameras allowed into the caucus rooms to either watch in real time when voters convince those in non-viable groups to come join their candidate’s group or hover over the people sorting pieces of paper and watch as the vote counters make tally marks on legal pads of paper? Since when can the media swarm votes like that? When you vote, do local or national news cameras watch as you cast your vote? Should that be a private process? I guess it’s not in Iowa.

Hillary just declared victory with only 84% of the votes in and she has only a 7-vote lead. I hope that Bernie overtakes her just so she looks like a cocky bitch. Actually, she’ll look like an idiot by declaring victory when she didn’t win.

The last votes to be counted in elections are from the largest pools of voters. In state-wide elections, the last precincts to report their votes are in the big cities. So tonight, the Dem sites with the largest turn-outs will be the last to report. And large turn-out favors Sanders. The first precincts to report in the Dem site were likely the very rural areas that voted for Hillary. So here’s hoping Bernie overtakes Hillary just to smite her for prematurely declaring victory.

Huckabee just suspended his campaign. They’re starting to drop like flies. Now if Carly, Christie, Santorum, Bush, and all the other lackeys drop out, along with Carson, the Republican race will be be more focused and get downright nasty. And after tonight, I think Hillary and Bernie will take off the gloves. Bring it on! It outta get good from here on out.

It’s Saturday. There were no football games on TV today. Baseball hasn’t started. I don’t watch basketball. The news shows are just babbling about the most recent poll data which is getting old pretty fast. So while I’ve been at home, there is nothing to write about. Not even anything about the re-run shows that I’ve recorded.

I spent the day at a baseball game between my son’s high school team and the alumni players of past seasons. It’s the day-time portion of the annual day of fundraising for the team. (The evening portion is a casino/poker game night with raffles and auctions and drinking. I didn’t go to that.) The event was fun, but nothing special to write about.

It’s easier to write every day when there are new subjects to comment on. Wait… I dangled a participle. It’s easier to write every day when there are new subjects on which I can comment. When there’s nothing new, no comment. I could come up with a random topic and type a few sentences, but I don;t feel like it today. So…